(W and me before the opening of the WSAKE Christmas market - I´m wearing our SICHEL NECKLACE and a lovely scarf from a swap with the HUI HUI girls on top of a lot of wool)

The time between the years - these are the days I dread the most, even more than the vast dull stretch of time that is January and Febuary (up to this day I´m not able to pronounce those two words correctly in English). In the last years these days have not been kind to our family, almost everyone battling with some kind of sickness or - like me - getting a belated Christmas gift of a whole new mystery disease every two years - can´t wait for this year´s surprise. So many triggers all around in this winter wonder land of wet dirty snow, mud splattered down jackets and panic (and probably epilepsy) inducing fairy lights. The shortest days of Winter now remember me of a STAY in a mad hospital where the head of the department tells me that she had taken a look at the pieces on my website and some (not all) of them were quite (a little bit) nice, while I was staring at her yin and yang pendant - the cheapest and most ugly one I had seen so far. I should have left at once, but stayed for six horrible weeks instead.

Despite this December panic I went through with our annual Christmas market and after the first rather quiet hours our show room was filled with the nicest people ever. It turns out we have the kind of "client friends" that come bearing gifts, so many nice faces, known and unknown. Afterwards I felt really sorry I didn´t have more time for each and everyone. And I wished for every day to be like that, filled with a cheery buss and banter. And I´m very thankful for all of those who nudged me on to do it no matter what - you know who you are, kind friends!

My cat has now an eye specialist, an enthusiastic young lady who fell in love with her rare condition and now, after three years of almond shaped eyes due to constant squinting caused by a painful overgrowth, she  has clear round eyes again. The magic powers of cortisone! She is the most calm and comfortable when laying on top of the radiator (I think she even curled her brows on that hot grid a while ago) or curled up on a pillow with no one around to disturb her. But when she actually dares to jump on my lap for cuddles she purrs in delight, looking up to me with those brand new huge eyes. I´m just like her - feeling the most at ease with all my troubles when there are no witnesses around, but even better when I dare to surround myself with friends. And that would be what I´m most thankful for this year, to have found such kind people, they are my treasure. I buy tiny bees wax candles for them this Christmas, glossy and of a wonderful rich yellow colour, but I don´t know what else to give.

A few days ago, we sat at a place filled with a lot of Christmas parties and I spotted two guys I had a tiny (that´s as big as it gets around here) crush on over the last year and I felt so at ease, thinking it couldn´t have been that bad when this had actually happened (and apparently I have a very big heart since these weren´t all the crushes I had). Despite the icy rain outside I felt almost warm and fuzzy, but then again I was wearing my heat tech long johns for extra cosiness.

Here are some other things that made me happy this year (it is super trendy to have these kind of gratitude lists and year-in-review things, so of course I have to do one, too):

Becoming a GOD MOTHER.

After her fabulous talk on "Writing Architecture", about the delight and need to write and her advice to just start, I dared to walk up to Jane Rendell thanking her for her words and telling her how much they meant to me and she wished me good luck with my own writing. Oh my! This talk was part of a series on feminist ideas in architecture and design, organized by a local school for architecture, open for everyone and for free - so this way I also got to listen to Peg Raws. I was so amazed by the kindness of those two smart lovely women, it felt like a whole new world opening in my mind, a world filled with fierce, brilliant and encouraging ladies. And it looked like my English has quite improved since my school days since I had no trouble following even philosophical talks.

I haven´t seen my sisters a lot this year, actually only on a handful of days. With E I rode into town one Summer evening, not being able to decide if we should spend some money on the entrance fee of a party where we knew nobody, or not. We ended up eating ice cream and sitting around a fountain where everyone meets up on those kind of nights - the fountain water smelled horribly foul and we wished for a live TINDER version as a way to be able to talk to all those pretty people out and about.

Went to the opening party of a new design studio in my dreary neighborhood that made me look differently at my surroundings, it felt almost metropolitan.

Reading "A little Life" and being so touched by the description of friendship and acceptance of physical and mental problems of a loved one.

I was also quite taken by the amazing Australian series "Please like me" and it looks like everyone else is too - so I do encourage you to watch it on Netflix over the holidays in case you haven´t so far.

Talks and walks with lovely friends, all around our old town and its parks, along the river and back again.

Having my heart broken a bit - didn´t know I had it in me and it sucked, but still. This didn´t change my preference of books on single women to love stories, so maybe that is why I was so taken with "The Essex Serpent". My first Anita Brookner NOVEL however disturbed me a bit, she described her heroine in such a cruel way. Also I don´t think I want to become a witch just now, like in LOLLY WILLOWS, not ready for the countryside either.

Clients, very very sweet clients. Sometimes I´m really excited before a meeting, but then it always works out in the best way.

And I´m thankful for all those times things weren´t that bad. 

Since the beginning of the colder season said cat stays mostly in - day and night - which is a new thing for her, being inside for a stray over longer stretches of time apparently takes years to get used to. I´m rather pleased with that development - not that many cat fights and injuries, also she gets a bit chubby and her fur glistens since she doesn´t take as many sand baths. Already quite a while ago I have started to drag home as many dry provisions as possible for the upcoming holidays when my sisters will be staying over and we might want to hibernate just like my pet and not busy ourselves with shopping for groceries and such. Fresh produce will of course be acquired at the farmers market this Saturday, lots of leafy green things and krauts and these are some things I would like to try:

a focaccia with scallions and cranberries from Nigel Slater´s Christmas cook book

BROCCOLI WITH RAISINS AND NUTS (very into raisins with vegetables these days)

PASTA WITH WHITE BEANS

A LASAGNA WITH CHARD, SPINACH AND HAZELNUTS (after the sister allergic to tomatoes has left the building)

A SWEET FIG AND WALNUT LOAF

I will turn those PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES WITH OLIVE OIL into tumb print ones again, by making an imprint before baking and filling them with raspberry jam afterwards and I might give these AMARENA CHERRY ROSEMARY BETHMÄNNCHEN a try.
We had these SPÄTZLE WITH BLUE KRAUT AND CHESTNUTS a few years back and I´d like to give it another try, heavily tweaked of course - no need for eggs in Spätzle and putting slightly, adding toasted ground hazelnuts to the dough so they won´t taste that bland.

On the reading and watching front we´re all set - the books in this house should last a few life times let alone Christmas´ days and then there is Netflix of course. Sadly I already watched all of "Godless", which I have been recommending to everyone, including W since it features a sheriff in desperate need of glasses and he is still traumatized by dressing up as a cowboy for a childhood carnival and leaving the party after everyone was making fun of him because there is no such thing as a cowboy wearing glasses. Also I actually wanted to give that bow tie I found at a flea market (pictured above) to my sisters boyfriend (he also painted those tiny purple angels behind it), but now I think I might need it in case I want to move to La Belle. Also I´m currently in the midst of a brick of a book containing all of Nancy Mitford´s novels.

Tell me: what are you going to do, read, watch and cook during the holidays?

Merry Christmas to all!

We´d love to invite you all to our WSAKE Weihnachtsmarkt!

9.12.2017

11 - 16 Uhr

WSAKE Atelier 

Am Gries 35, Regensburg/Stadtamhof

Come on over and meet all of our STARS, CATS, HOUR GLASSES, BEARS, BUBBLES, KINGS, UDDERS and SO MUCH MORE!

In case you want to stop by some other time before Christmas - let us know and we´ll work something out!

It is BOOK CLUB time again! And we´ve chosen BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE MUSEUM / FAMILIENALBUM by Kate Atkinson for our meeting on 13.12., 19:30, so you´re in for a treat!

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In case you want to join us, send me a message and I´ll let you know all the details!

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I found that cookie cutter of the young Queen at TK Maxx and had to have it since I like weird things and they often come in handy (you never know what you might need one day) and as it turns out it is basically the one piece of Coronation memorabilia our heroine´s sister Patricia doesn´t own and I imagine she would be quite jealous. The SWEDISH RYE COOKIE dough I only used because it looked like they actually might hold their shape while baking and not run into shapeless blobs instead and yes, they turned out perfect! Highly recommended for a twist on the basic bland butter recipes used  for cookie cutters (and there are no eggs in there, so it´s very children-snacking-on-dough-friendly) - it makes about one and a half dozen of huge Queens or a lot of tiny other shapes. And since in my imagination fruit cakes are a very English thing I also threw in some raisins - it´s probable those TEA CAKES´ fault (also straight outta Behind the Museum) or that very lovely honey cake I brought back from Marks&Spencer when I was on a trip to London over ten years ago. Now I might eat all of those Queens when the new season of The Crown starts on Netflix, but they very likely won´t last until it airs.

The idea was probably born when I saw a picture of a girl wearing a really delicate necklace with a short inserted hefty chunk of chain - this was when I started coming up with a way to use up our left over pieces from all those necklaces we have made over the years. In W´s case it would have to be rather decades that years, so there was quite a bit around. For a few weeks I puzzled together all of those little bits discovering even more and more in every box and drawer I opened and assembled them into a set of necklaces, using various sized eyelets. They have a lovely weight to them and I´m really into the rhythm created by the different lengths and sizes of the elements - of course I´d love to keep them all: SILVER RECYCLING NECKLACES. And then there are FACES for you, HOUR GLASS EAR STUDS (so you never run out of time), BUBBLE PENDANTS we can emboss with anything you want to say and we created a HAMMERED version of our DOTTED RINGS.

A friend lent me her tiny lightbox and I played around with it for a bit, kind of into it, might get one of my own one time. 

Also: our (really) TINY HEART + STAR NECKLACES are back, this time made of brass on a string of silk and we added eyelets to our LETTERED PENDANTS so you can wear them on any kind of necklace.

(at the end of each year I turn my blog post into a photo book, in case the internet breaks and all is lost and since these are actually almost the only pictures I take anyway - PRINT24 offers a good deal, in case you´re able to produce your own layout and such. Sometimes I do a special one with funny outtakes, or just order a few prints whenever ARTIFACT UPRISING offers a free pack, not sponsored) 

(actually not sponsored by anyone at all, still broke as hell - I just really like links)

In the last blog post I wrote about my mum not giving away clothes because they remember her of certain events - lately my ability to not make any remarkable memories makes me sad. I´m so tired to be so far out of everything, so caught up in my isle of pain and anxiety. So I thought how about I´ll try and see which memories of recent times are to be found in my closet:

During the cold months I´m having a lot of trouble keeping warm, which is crucial for some of my ailments and I try to do so under down jackets and generations of COS wool gotten on sale and a swapped BABAA cardigan. Last winter I decided to invest in some UNIQLO HEATTECH - I also got some for W who tends to shrink into himself when it´s cold out. He was a bit annoyed at first, but then we found out it actually worked and now we´re living in it for at least half of the year. So I bet I wore my sets to a lot of unpleasant events and some happier ones too.

In a week filled with hope after my operation in 2014 I finally got to visit E in Leipzig and it was one of the best times I have ever had. There was a Koran meal with so much cilantro, vegan and not-so-vegan hot dogs, parties at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, watching the world cup finale during a thunder storm on a stream that was a few minutes behind and since they shut down public viewing in the parks and no one had prepared for watching the thing at home, there was nothing left in the raided Spätis but strawberry ice cream and Turkish delight. We set out for a hellishly long bike ride to a neighbourhood flea market in a back yard, where I was worried I might faint from exhaustion. After resting for a bit, I bought my broke sister a vegan home made wrap, we found some water transfer stickers from the former DDR and a hand crocheted flowery lace jacket for the outrageous price of 5€. We also spent another Euro on a DRESS making everyone look pregnant - never wore both of them, never going to give them away either. Afterwards we became capitalistic suckers for a second and bought ice tea and iced cocoa at Starbucks, we were that exhausted.

There is a dark blue curduroy Toast dress (SIMILAR) I´m basically living in. Wore it to a lunch with a friend at a tiny Italian pasta place in town and to the most insane Saturday night outing to a fun fair, which was one of the most daring things I did this year - this says a lot about me and my life right now.

Bought a silver lamé one shoulder tinsel shedding American Retro dress for a new years dance party I never went to, I wasn´t even able to go out of bed to watch the fire works, I was in way too much pain. This was the first new years I spent on my own, since my sisters had already fled that depressing affair this always turns into at my place. Not giving up on the chance to wear it one day/night, so it stays.

Over twenty years after my mum got me two Lee jeans - a beige and a dark green corduroy one - I´m wearing that brand again. Levis doesn´t work on me. I have to unbutton every trouser when sitting down, no matter which size and usually exchange them for comfy drawstring bottoms as soon as I get home.

A cyan and white Ikat scarf in the softest beautifully washable cotton from Folkdays (I now have my eyes on THIS ONE) I wear in heavy rotation with my beloved silk HUI HUI SCARF (which I won!!!)- both make me feel a bit put together with their undeniable beauty and therefore quite safe.

There is a wildly patterned black and yellow dress I wore to the christening of my GOD DAUGHTER - I had to pee so badly when arriving at the church and since everything was closed on that Sunday another church goer, a doctor with a surgery near by, took mercy on me and unlocked his office. For this I will be forever grateful - the older men following my example, too. Wore it to a gallery opening a few nights later, when someone COMPLIMENTED my shoes and to a Ronja von Rönne reading the day after.

The yellow PALOMA WOOL COAT DRESS I wore to friends wedding (forgetting to put on my lovely Rachel Comey MARS BOOTS - the last heeled shoes I got, since the trouble with my feet started around that time) and to my mum´s 60th birthday dinner, right after my scary PET scan, pronouncing whatever is ailing me isn´t cancer - my uncle was joking about the fact that I was literally "glowing" that night.

A woolen Paloma Wool jacket I wore every day during my six week stay at the clinic at the beginning of this year - now I have a very difficult relationship with that thing, one might call it hate. It´s the same with a pair of fur lined Arizona Birkenstocks - don´t think I can ever wear them again, might give them to my sister.

A no name black t-shirt dress I wore to the meeting with the head of the neurology department to have my test results explained - it was the day I decided there was no other option than to take care of myself, this specialist was so obviously stunned by his own field and generally confused by me, I left his office laughing - no small feat, since that same department almost drove my into complete desperation only a few weeks before.

A lovely pair of dark grey Roeckl leather gloves with a braided detail I forgot at a flea market booth, but remembered in time so I´m still wearing them.

A BOBO CHOSES skirt worn to the screening of Sagmeister´s Happy Film with a harlequin style diamond pattern, which seems fitting since I made a fool out of myself that night.

Soft cotton Lala Berlin trousers in a yellow/pink print - worn to one of my favorite outings every year - the local antique market in the old town (the weather is great every year without fail at least for half of the day) and a walk with a dear friend, talking about love and depression.

A pleated grey tencel dress worn (and tucked into my underpants at one time) when those internet friends came VISITING and again a lot (alternating with an other model) during my time living in a GRATITUDE LIST - there was a Scottish/German literature festival in town and the tech guy told me how annoyed he was of the cultural activities at the venue.

A short sleeved grey v-neck cashmere sweater worn when I developed a crush on a guy while he explained 3D printing to me for over three hours. Gave him my email address, he never reached out - considering my luck with these things he probably is happily married with kids and such.

A stack of vintage Indian silk wrap skirts in beautiful patterns on display on a chair in my bedroom, found at one of my happiest flea market visits during my even happier time this spring - never worn.

A light Muji coat I will wear for ages found on my trip to Cologne, VISITING E last year - it was the most miserable I had ever been on a trip, but it turned out kind of okay anyway. The geranium cuttings I stole from the botanic garden there never took root.

A SEE SUN shirt (and a pair of brown suede OSBORN Clarity Flats) worn to a meeting of my BOOK CLUB that made me very happy - as you know I also wear THIS ONE a lot (found on an Instagram sale from TAS-KA), which I do remember wearing when I told MAREIKE FOECKING at a design event in town how much I liked her book 100 RELATIONSHIPS.

A blue dress with asymmetrical layers weighted down by tiny chains worn as a last minute plus one to the wedding of the sister of an OLD FRIEND on an island in the Danube, after I met my god daughter at a classical concert in a park where she shat all over her mum. Forgot to cut off the price tag, but a lady we met actually had scissors in her hand bag.

A very light lilac coloured vintage VELVET blazer found at a second hand shop as a teenager, that has now been with my sister for over a decade but was returned to me instead of ending up at the donation pile - still waiting to be worn again.

There must have been a lot of outfits worn during that year I went to lunch a lot to a vegan place in town with a friend, but I don´t remember any.

This list has been fun - might want to do it again!

As you can imagine WOMEN IN CLOTHES is one of my favorite books.

And Ana Kinsella´s newsletter THE LONDON REVIEW OF LOOKS is always a treat.

I would love to make more memories in that dark green CORDUROY COAT and FLOATY DRESS, this SPECKLED ROLL NECK SWEATER, that SCARF/SWEATER and this lovely patterned silk DRESS.